Emotions and draws

[Sandfly]

This isn’t a query about a particular draw. Rather I wanted to see what others think on this issue.

 

Let’s say there’s a subject on which we have strong feelings and opinions. Could be anything from a political opinion to a strong family relationship. I feel I imprint too many of my emotions on a reading and the cards drawn show me what I want to see rather than what I should see.....

 

How often do you doubt your readings on subjects you’re emotionally invested in? Where you may feel you’ve drawn cards that back your emotions and feelings and validate your viewpoint. In such situations do you feel a prickle of doubt?

[DownUnderNZer]

 

I think there is always going to some biases when reading just based on what we have learned and/or know the cards to mean as readers.

 

If say my nieces were having relationship issues and I approved or did not approve of their partner choices - I would never use cards against them or go out of my way to put my point of views into a reading deliberately. It would not be right and goes against my ethics. The same goes for all family and/or friends. No matter who I read for...

 

However, if cards did come to say things were not so positive, I would not sugar coat it either.

 

I told one niece some years back that her relationship would end and it did - just not right then, but about one or two years later. As for that boyfriend I did not like or dislike him - he was okay. I think my timing was out (Tarot), but not the reading itself.

 

With one nephew I told him that his partner was deliberately keeping him away from opportunities and that this was causing issues in the relationship. It was true, but since then he has learned ways of getting around his partner and has spread out on his own and now has his own TV series. They are still together, but his partner no longer controls everything.

 

That was the Lenormand not the Tarot.

 

I do think sometimes the cards can be about what we think and feel, but for me that would be in my own readings, not for another. I do not think I would read for others if my own agenda kept coming up as it just would not be productive to the other person or myself.

 

 

DND  <3

 

 

 

 

[Sandfly]

I don't think I will be ready to read for others for a while yet. So I only read for myself.

 

Lately I have been drawing and trying spreads new to me and many times I have felt that the cards have spoken "my" truth and perhaps not "the" truth. Because I had too many strong feelings for the subject. Does that make sense?

 

Thank you for your input

[Sandfly]

Also I want to add: seeking clarity and guidance from the cards can become futile if you start harboring doubt.

[DownUnderNZer]

 

 

 

Here is what I would suggest:

 

1) Take time out from reading for yourself if it is possible and/or on the same questions over and over.

 

If too subjective try this and it is not easy to do - but it can be done:

 

2) Do it as though you were reading for someone else and not yourself.

 

DND  <3

 

 

 

 

Also I want to add: seeking clarity and guidance from the cards can become futile if you start harboring doubt.

[Sandfly]

I think I’ll go on a “study break” for now. I’ve just got a couple of good books on the subject so maybe this little break from intense readings comes at a good time.

 

Thank you DND

[Wanderer]

Until I started posting here, I didn't realize how difficult reading for oneself is supposed to be! I just thought I'd add a couple of things about how (I think) I can get it to work pretty reliably, and how I avoid entanglements when reading for others that I know well.

 

Firstly, you need to be in the right frame of mind. Meditate, breathe, calm yourself, and if that's difficult, take some time to run through your fears and thoughts. Don't try to bury them, because you'll just push them into your subconscious, and guess what the Tarot uses..!?  ;)

    When you can, start second-guessing yourself. Coldly ask yourself where your belief and worries could be wrong, and challenge all your assumptions. It can take a while, but for tarot to work effectively, you (and the sitter) need to be in the right mental place. For yourself, when you are thoroughly confused and can see almost everything as a possibility, then you're ready.

 

Next, think about how you draw the cards. For yourself, it doesn't really matter much: whatever you do, there's only you involved. When reading for friends and family, though, this is key. Personally, I always get the sitter to draw the cards, slowly and one at a time, with my role being to get them to focus on the position's meaning for each one. Sometimes I can see which card they will pick before they do, but usually not. The latter is better; it means I'm not influencing their choice, and we don't have some sort of psychic short-circuit.

 

The actual reading of the cards is the difficult one, whether for yourself or someone else. We all know how tempting it is to see one meaning that your intellect tells you is relevant or desirable, and ignore ones that we don't necessarily like. I can only say that when the right significance appears in your head, you know. Somehow, you recognize it: there's a feedback loop between your intuition and the rote meanings, and chains of significance rain out of the cloud of unknowing. I've sometimes struggled, and tried to create these chains of meaning rationally, but they never feel right; you know you're reaching for an answer, and finding the wrong one. Getting the real truth is sometimes difficult, but it's like seeing the path through a dense forest: wait a bit, clear your mind, and suddenly it appears in front of you and you wonder why it wasn't obvious in the first place.

 

Learn to recognize that feeling, and you can't be led astray by your ego... or, at least, you'll know when that's what's happening!  ;)

[Sandfly]

Until I started posting here, I didn't realize how difficult reading for oneself is supposed to be! I just thought I'd add a couple of things about how (I think) I can get it to work pretty reliably, and how I avoid entanglements when reading for others that I know well.

I

Firstly, you need to be in the right frame of mind. Meditate, breathe, calm yourself, and if that's difficult, take some time to run through your fears and thoughts. Don't try to bury them, because you'll just push them into your subconscious, and guess what the Tarot uses..!?  ;)

    When you can, start second-guessing yourself. Coldly ask yourself where your belief and worries could be wrong, and challenge all your assumptions. It can take a while, but for tarot to work effectively, you (and the sitter) need to be in the right mental place. For yourself, when you are thoroughly confused and can see almost everything as a possibility, then you're ready.

 

Next, think about how you draw the cards. For yourself, it doesn't really matter much: whatever you do, there's only you involved. When reading for friends and family, though, this is key. Personally, I always get the sitter to draw the cards, slowly and one at a time, with my role being to get them to focus on the position's meaning for each one. Sometimes I can see which card they will pick before they do, but usually not. The latter is better; it means I'm not influencing their choice, and we don't have some sort of psychic short-circuit.

 

The actual reading of the cards is the difficult one, whether for yourself or someone else. We all know how tempting it is to see one meaning that your intellect tells you is relevant or desirable, and ignore ones that we don't necessarily like. I can only say that when the right significance appears in your head, you know. Somehow, you recognize it: there's a feedback loop between your intuition and the rote meanings, and chains of significance rain out of the cloud of unknowing. I've sometimes struggled, and tried to create these chains of meaning rationally, but they never feel right; you know you're reaching for an answer, and finding the wrong one. Getting the real truth is sometimes difficult, but it's like seeing the path through a dense forest: wait a bit, clear your mind, and suddenly it appears in front of you and you wonder why it wasn't obvious in the first place.

 

Learn to recognize that feeling, and you can't be led astray by your ego... or, at least, you'll know when that's what's happening!  ;)

 

I took your advice. I sat and reflected on what you have said for a couple of days. Early this morning I took part in a very grounding yoga practice, I meditated, and I felt ready to read. Weird as it may sound today my hands were itching for the feel of my cards. Does that sound familiar?

 

Once again I have drawn the same cards for myself and my ex. I almost always draw a seven and a five of swords when I ask my cards about him....

 

I don’t think my intuition is way out here. For once I don’t doubt my cards aren’t telling me the truth.

[wind]

I also feel that self-readings can be very much influenced by our emotions and personal attitude. The energy we connect to when drawing the cards is more of the emotional body or even astral level where all our past is stored and not of the levels of clarity. So when I do readings for my self, I use two approaches, one is that I pretend that I am reading for a client sitting facing me, hence shifting the energy to the neutral ground or/and (I do this for every reading in fact, whether for other or for myself) I empty my mind imagining an empty space in my head and a light descending through my head and hands. I might even mentally say, 'Light, clear the path and show the truth', or something - anything that helps me elevate the mind to the state that is beyond the emotional entanglements.

 

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

I did it when beginning and time and time again I see it here in readings.

The question is about someone or something other than self.

 

Say, does he like orange.

and regardless of the card the response is "I think he.."

 

What "I" think means squat. What does the card say?

Work at breaking the habit of I think and it will open up what the cards have to say.

[Wanderer]

 

I took your advice. I sat and reflected on what you have said for a couple of days. Early this morning I took part in a very grounding yoga practice, I meditated, and I felt ready to read. Weird as it may sound today my hands were itching for the feel of my cards. Does that sound familiar?

 

Once again I have drawn the same cards for myself and my ex. I almost always draw a seven and a five of swords when I ask my cards about him....

 

I don’t think my intuition is way out here. For once I don’t doubt my cards aren’t telling me the truth.

 

Glad it was helpful! Yes, I know that feeling of itching for the feel of the cards... I think it's a good sign of readiness, so long as it's not addiction!  ;) I'm often torn between wanting to practice more, so that I get better, and being wary of using the cards 'too much' - whatever that may mean.

 

It's really interesting that you're drawing the same cards repeatedly. I also see certain cards regularly, and often in the same positions, but it's not usually quite so predictable as that. If it were me, I'd also be seeing this as a real pattern... which just leaves the interpretation to worry about!  ;D

[Sandfly]

 

I took your advice. I sat and reflected on what you have said for a couple of days. Early this morning I took part in a very grounding yoga practice, I meditated, and I felt ready to read. Weird as it may sound today my hands were itching for the feel of my cards. Does that sound familiar?

 

Once again I have drawn the same cards for myself and my ex. I almost always draw a seven and a five of swords when I ask my cards about him....

 

I don’t think my intuition is way out here. For once I don’t doubt my cards aren’t telling me the truth.

 

Glad it was helpful! Yes, I know that feeling of itching for the feel of the cards... I think it's a good sign of readiness, so long as it's not addiction!  ;) I'm often torn between wanting to practice more, so that I get better, and being wary of using the cards 'too much' - whatever that may mean.

 

It's really interesting that you're drawing the same cards repeatedly. I also see certain cards regularly, and often in the same positions, but it's not usually quite so predictable as that. If it were me, I'd also be seeing this as a real pattern... which just leaves the interpretation to worry about!  ;D

 

Yes to both! I am also finding my self trying to resist the "lure" of the cards. Everything in moderation and in balance  :D

[Sandfly]

I also feel that self-readings can be very much influenced by our emotions and personal attitude. The energy we connect to when drawing the cards is more of the emotional body or even astral level where all our past is stored and not of the levels of clarity. So when I do readings for my self, I use two approaches, one is that I pretend that I am reading for a client sitting facing me, hence shifting the energy to the neutral ground or/and (I do this for every reading in fact, whether for other or for myself) I empty my mind imagining an empty space in my head and a light descending through my head and hands. I might even mentally say, 'Light, clear the path and show the truth', or something - anything that helps me elevate the mind to the state that is beyond the emotional entanglements.

 

I am learning that one way to disentangle from the emotions is to ask open questions. And the framing and wording of those questions is something I am really working towards these days.

I am trying your visualization technique as well. It helps me, personally, to have some calming music like Tibetan bowls playing while I work with the cards.